Driving through Lusikisiki one is struck by the green rolling hills, the healthy looking cattle grazing in village pastures and the endless fields of maize. For those in the know, the extraordinary biodiversity of the area – with its over 1700 indigenous plants – is as impressive as the rolling hills and the maize fields. This high rainfall and fertile part of the picturesque Wild Coast is very different from so many other communal areas in South Africa that regularly experience drought. But the statistics show that not all is well in Pondoland. The district, like so many parts of South Africa, has an extremely high HIV infection rate of 24% - high for rural areas in the Eastern Cape. It also has an under-resourced provincial health department.